Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

U.S. President Joe Biden landed at Phnom Penh International Airport on Saturday (Nov. 12) morning to meet with Asean leaders during the 40th and 41st Asean Summits and Related Summits, CNN reported.

This weekend's meeting builds on the Asean-U.S. summit held in Washington earlier this year, National Security advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters in a press conference from aboard the Air Force One.

Biden was earlier in Egypt for the COP27 summit on climate change.

Biden's agenda

Biden began his Asia engagement by meeting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen before attending the U.S.-ASEAN Summit meeting.

"So, from the very beginning of the administration, the President has said that he was intent on elevating our engagement in the Indo-Pacific", Sullivan said, citing the Indo-Pacific National Economic Framework as an example, and added that Biden wanted to build on that and deliver on a series of concrete initiatives.

Broadly, such initiatives include maritime cooperation, digital connectivity, economic investment, and a range of other issues, Sullivan explained.

Maritime co-operation and regional security

Biden will also focus on co-operating with ASEAN nations in the domain of maritime awareness, such as using satellites to track illegal fishing and help countries to respond to disasters.

Biden is also expected to discuss the deployment posture of the U.S. military in the region.

"Whether it’s the Visiting Forces Agreement with the Philippines or other steps to have the U.S. on the front foot, in terms of defence and security cooperation, that will be on display as well", Sullivan said.

Issues on "freedom of navigation", "lawful unimpeded commerce", the role of the U.S. in "maintaining peace and stability" in the region will also be touched upon.

Myanmar

Another area that Biden will speak with ASEAN leaders about is the issue of Myanmar, Sullivan highlighted.

Sullivan noted that the military junta "continue to take steps that repress and oppress their citizenry and move that country further away rather than closer to the democratic path it was on before the coup".

"The President will use this opportunity to discuss how we can coordinate more closely to continue to impose costs and raise pressure on the junta," Sullivan said.

Meeting with close allies before bilateral with Xi

Apart from engaging ASEAN leaders, Biden will also hold trilateral meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during the East Asia Summit, which is taking place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as well.

The security issue of North Korea's nuclear and missiles programme will be discussed during the trilateral.

The trilateral is notable given the historic tensions between South Korea and Japan, CNN wrote.

Expected to meet with Xi Jinping at G20

The meetings in Cambodia comes ahead of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali that will take place from Nov. 15 to Nov. 16, where Biden is expected to meet in person with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time since he took office, CNN wrote.

The Asean Summits and East Asia Summit gives Biden the opportunity to use his meeting with close allies like South Korea and Japan to "preview" his intentions and get a sense of the issues the allies would like to be raised during the China bilateral, Sullivan shared.

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan are also in Cambodia to attend the Asean summits.

Related articles

Top image via Joe Biden/Facebook